Milton’s Catholic School Board Balances the Books. What Comes Next?

From the Milton Constituency Association – Ontario Centrist Party
June 25, 2025

On June 24, the Halton Catholic District School Board (HCDSB) approved a balanced operating budget of $533.9 million for the 2025–2026 school year.

Board Chair Marvin Duarte and Director of Education John Klein praised the effort as fiscally responsible and aligned with their multi-year strategy. Despite being the lowest-funded school board per student in Ontario, HCDSB continues to meet compliance targets set by the Ministry of Education.

For Milton residents, the news is both reassuring and frustrating. The Board is doing everything it can with limited provincial support. But the reality is that funding formulas are not keeping pace with population growth, student need, or facility demand.

What the Numbers Show

  • Projected total enrolment: 36,421 students across elementary and secondary levels

  • Estimated revenue: $546.1 million

  • Estimated expenses: $533.9 million

  • Budget submission deadline: June 30, 2025

On paper, this is a balanced and compliant budget. On the ground, it reflects a system that is stretched thin, especially in fast-growing communities like Milton.

A Centrist Perspective on Education in Growth Regions

According to Syed Mohsin Rizvi, Chair of the Milton Constituency Association:

“Milton’s growth is visible in every classroom, every hallway, and every school parking lot. Our teachers are stepping up, but the provincial support isn’t keeping up. This is not about meeting minimums. It’s about building a future that works.”

The Ontario Centrist Party respects the careful stewardship shown by HCDSB leadership. But we also believe that the Ministry of Education must act to correct a structural imbalance in how education funding is delivered to high-growth communities.

What Needs to Change

1. Enrolment-Linked Capital Funding
The province should tie school capital project approvals directly to population growth data, so that new buildings are authorized as need increases, not delayed by bureaucracy.

2. Mid-Year Funding Adjustments
Current funding models rely too heavily on outdated projections. Milton needs a dynamic model that reflects actual student growth as it happens.

3. Frontline Support and Staffing Stability
Balanced budgets should not come at the expense of under-resourced classrooms or burnt-out educators. Investments in mental health, special education, and support staff must be built into the baseline.

Our Next Step

Milton continues to meet the challenges placed before it. But it cannot do this alone. The provincial government must treat growing communities like Milton as priorities, not footnotes.

The Ontario Centrist Party is preparing a public policy submission to the Ministry of Education that outlines common-sense reforms to ensure funding fairness across Ontario. Milton will be at the center of that conversation.

We encourage all residents — parents, students, teachers, and local leaders — to get involved.

Connect with the Milton CA
Website: https://ontariocentristparty.ca/milton
WhatsApp: CPO Milton CA Whatsapp

Women in the Centre: Launching a Bold Agenda for Ontario’s Future

Letter to the Founding Members of Women in the Centre

To all the incredible women who’ve joined Women in the Centre,

I want to start this letter with humility. As a man writing to a group of accomplished, capable, and community-driven women, I understand that my role here is not to lead, it’s to support. What follows is not a directive, but a set of suggestions. This agenda is meant to offer a starting point, a framework that I hope serves as a helpful foundation as you decide together what this group will become.

Over the last few years, I’ve listened closely to countless women across Ontario; mothers, professionals, caregivers, entrepreneurs that speak about the structural and personal barriers they continue to face. What I heard was honest, often difficult, and deeply motivating. This group exists because those voices matter and because Ontario needs to reflect them in our politics, in our priorities, and in our leadership.

Women in the Centre is a civic initiative within the Ontario Centrist Party, but it belongs entirely to its members. The agenda below is simply a guide, a tool to help us begin moving in a direction that brings meaningful change to women’s lives across this province.

Vision & Core Deliverables

  • Policy Development: Drive policy that reflects lived experience and supports real progress for women in Ontario.
  • Leadership Pipeline: Identify, mentor, and support women into leadership and political roles across the province.
  • Community Mobilization: Build networks that inform, connect, and empower women to lead change where they live and work.

Year One Priorities

1. Women’s Health & Reproductive Care

  • Establish a taskforce focused on OB/GYN access, postpartum care, and rural health gaps.
  • Advocate for improved mental health resources, including perimenopause and trauma-informed care.
  • Push for stronger data collection and research on women’s long-COVID and cardiovascular risks.

2. Affordable Childcare & Early Learning

  • Design policy for affordable, publicly funded childcare with real municipal flexibility.
  • Support pilot programs for workplace-supported childcare in partnership with local employers.

3. Economic Empowerment

  • Launch a Women Entrepreneurs Fund: grants and mentorship for women-owned businesses.
  • Create a provincial directory to promote women-owned vendors for public procurement.
  • Advocate for fair parental leave and re-entry supports in private sector hiring practices.

4. Leadership & Participation

  • Develop a “Women Candidate Bootcamp” covering fundraising, organizing, and digital campaigning.
  • Establish leadership fellowships with post-secondary and professional institutions.
  • Create a Women’s Advisory Council to influence the party’s platform and policy focus.

5. Equity in Policy & Budgeting

  • Push for mandatory Gender-Based Analysis (GBA+) in all provincial budget decisions.
  • Host an annual Ontario Women’s Budget Summit to assess equity outcomes and impact.
  • Publish annual equity performance reports across key ministries and social programs.

Ongoing Initiatives

Initiative Goal Frequency
Policy Roundtables Bring experts and community members together Quarterly
Mentorship Circles Connect aspiring women leaders to mentors Monthly
Public Forums & Town Halls Direct public engagement on women’s issues Bi-Annual
Research Partnerships Collaborate with think tanks and academics Ongoing
Media & Messaging Amplify women’s leadership stories and ideas Monthly

Measuring Progress

  • Policy Wins: Are our proposals being adopted, heard, or debated?
  • Participation Growth: How many new women are engaging, mentoring, and leading?
  • Community Reach: Are we showing up in the places where women need support?
  • Recognition & Visibility: Are our voices shaping platforms, media, and public thinking?

Next Steps

  • Convene a launch session to align around your top two priorities for the year.
  • Establish working groups based on interest, region, and lived experience.
  • Continue growing the group in a way that reflects your vision, not anyone else’s.

With deep respect and appreciation,

Mansoor Qureshi
Leader, Ontario Centrist Party

Get Involved

Whether you’re ready to lead, learn, or simply connect—there’s a place for you at Women at the Centre.

Women At The Centre
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Ontario’s $15 Billion EV Delay: What Honda’s Pause Really Means for People

This week, Ontario hit a speed bump in its push toward becoming a leader in electric vehicle (EV) manufacturing. Honda Canada announced it’s postponing its $15 billion investment project in Alliston — a project that was supposed to create thousands of jobs and bring long-term economic momentum to the province.

The plan included building an EV battery plant and retooling their vehicle assembly facility. It was seen as a cornerstone of Ontario’s green economy. The federal and provincial governments had pledged over $5 billion in public funding to support it. Now, Honda says the project is on hold for up to two years.

The reasons? Slower global demand for electric vehicles and new U.S. tariffs that affect how foreign-made EVs will be treated in the American market.

This isn’t just about factories or headlines. It’s about trust — and about real people in real towns who were counting on this.

A Story That Could Be Real — Even If It’s Not

To show what this means on a human level, let’s imagine a young man named Jayden. He’s not real, but his story could be.

Jayden is 21, living in Barrie with his mom and younger brother. He just finished trade school and was excited about the Honda expansion. He saw a future in it — an apprenticeship, a steady income, maybe even the chance to move out and support his family.

Now, that plan is on hold. No job, no clear answers, and no way to know when the opportunity will come back — or if it ever will.

This is what happens when we put billions into projects without guarantees. And it raises an important question: What do we owe the communities who buy into these promises?

Where the Ontario Centrist Party Stands

At the Ontario Centrist Party (CPO), we support bold investments in Ontario’s economy — especially in clean technology and innovation. But we also believe that public money should come with public protection.

If a project gets billions in support, there should be clear accountability:

  • What happens if timelines change?

  • What guarantees exist for local workers and communities?

  • How do we make sure these investments actually deliver long-term value — not just press conferences?

This pause from Honda is a reminder that Ontario can’t afford to build its future on single deals. We need strong economic ecosystems: skilled trades, flexible education, support for startups, and smart infrastructure that prepares us for whatever comes next.

The Bottom Line

Ontario has the talent, the will, and the resources to lead — but leadership isn’t just about headlines. It’s about staying power.

We’ll keep pushing for a province that protects its people, plans wisely, and never leaves workers like Jayden behind.

What’s Really Going On in Ontario? More on Jobs, Housing & the Road Ahead

Ontario isn’t on the verge of change—we’re already in the middle of it.

The headlines say the economy is up, jobs are growing, and transit is being built. But that’s not what most people feel. Rent is still high. Groceries cost more. Commutes are longer. And stable jobs are harder to find. For a lot of Ontarians, the future feels more uncertain than ever.

That’s why I’m sharing this update. Not to sell a talking point, but to be honest about where we’re at and what we need to do.

Our economy is growing, yes—but not for everyone. Big cities and some industries are doing well. Small towns and local businesses? Not so much. Inflation may be slowing, but most people still feel squeezed. Economic growth only matters if people actually feel it in their daily lives.

We’re seeing more jobs—mostly in transport and service work. But more and more of these jobs are contract, gig, or part-time. That means fewer benefits, no long-term security, and harder paths to owning a home or saving for retirement. Work should offer stability, not just hours.

Housing is the biggest problem we face. It used to be normal to buy a home in your late twenties. Today, people are still renting well into their forties. In some places, houses cost 15 or 20 times what the average person earns in a year. That’s not affordable. That’s broken. We need to build faster, crack down on speculation, and give cities more power to fix this locally.

Transit? We’ve been hearing about new lines for years. Ontario Line. Crosstown. Highway 413. But commuters are still stuck in traffic or waiting for buses that don’t come. Projects need to be finished—not just announced. Transit should be reliable, affordable, and make daily life easier.

The budget looks a little better. The deficit’s shrinking. Rebates are coming. That helps. But it’s not a long-term plan. We can’t rely on short-term handouts. We need smart spending—on housing, healthcare, transit, and education. Investments that actually make a difference.

There was a time—not that long ago—when one income could buy a house, raise a family, and build a future. That wasn’t a dream. That was real. It’s not gone forever. But we do have to fight for it.

We’re not broken. But we’re tired. And that’s fair.

The Ontario Centrist Party isn’t here to yell, divide, or blame. We’re here to focus on what works. We believe in balance. In real ideas that solve real problems. In leadership that’s calm, thoughtful, and clear.

We believe in you. In the people who show up, work hard, and still care about where Ontario is going. We’re here to serve that energy—not waste it.

Let’s stop waiting for someone else to fix it. Let’s fix it together.

Let’s get to work.

Ontario Centrist Party Update Mar 22, 2025

In this week’s address, I break down the top issues affecting Ontario — from new trade tensions with the U.S., to the major closure of Hudson’s Bay stores, to the upcoming federal election. We’re not here to play politics — we’re here to offer clear, balanced solutions that put Ontarians first. – Smarter trade strategy – Support for displaced retail workers – A strong Ontario voice in national decision-making